Wowsearch Redirect - How to remove

Wowsearch is a potentially unwanted browser extension that does one thing: changes your settings to redirect your internet searches to Bing.com, Yahoo.com, or another search site. Wowsearch itself is nearly invisible when installed, but when you try to use your default web search, it is Wowsearch.net that receives your query and decides which site it’ll pass it on to.

Details on Wowsearch:

Classification	Browser hijacker, PUP (potentially unwanted program).
Effects of a Wowsearch infection	Web searches are redirected, search queries are logged, the default search engine is in Wowsearch.net’s control.
How search hijackers get installed	Bundled with other installers, bundled with other extensions, advertised in a dishonest way, advertised by adware apps.
How to remove Wowsearch	Uninstall suspicious browser extensions, check your device for malware (Combo Cleaner for Macs, Spyhunter for PC, etc.), block malicious websites and be careful online.

Problems with Wowsearch

Wowsearch is made by Karbon Project LP, which also made  Jump browser (VirusTotal link – it’s not good), SplashTab (doesn’t work anymore), Infinite Dashboard (now removed from the Chrome Web Store), and other apps. It doesn’t seem to be a trustworthy developer.

Officially, Wowsearch.net is a metasearch engine – a search engine that uses the results of other search engines. However, Wowsearch has some issues, like search hijacking and bad presentation.

It seems like Wowsearch’s only function is to change your search settings so that it can control your internet searches. Wowsearch offloads this function to Protectmysearch.com, a site owned by Perion Network – an ad-tech company that helps monetize free apps.

Unsurprisingly, Wowsearch exists just to make a bit of money by exposing people to certain advertisements. At the same time, it fails to provide any unique functionality that would make it worth using. Not to mention, Wowsearch.net gets access to your search queries, which is a big privacy issue.

Another problem is that Wowsearch is so dishonest. In my opinion, all but one of its reviews on the Chrome web store are fake. I believe it because the reviews fit a few of the usual signs of fake reviews: they don’t address Wowsearch’s features in any detail, are very short, a few are the same (“This is the best I have used so far”), and they’re all posted within three days of one another.

How unwanted extensions get installed

An app like Wowsearch is unlikely to be installed for its merits. After all, it’s nothing but a search hijacker, even according to its own description posted on the Web store. But there are other ways to get Wowsearch onto people’s computers:

• Bundling. A free application gets bundled with additional offers (like browser extensions) that get installed with the application.
• Browser extensions offering other extensions during the installation. Multiple installations are chained together to look like a single app’s installation.
• Dishonest advertising. Many potentially unwanted browser extension advertisements don’t make it clear that a browser add-on is about to be installed.
• Promos by adware and other browser extensions. Often these work through web notifications, ad injections, or search hijacking.

As you can see, some of the ways that potentially unwanted browser add-ons like Wowsearch spread are with the help of other adware. That’s why it’s important to review the apps on your computer and remove anything that might be suspicious.

Wowsearch is only one of many search hijackers that are out there, preying on careless web surfers. For example, there’s the similarly named Wow.com and the Perion-owned Pdf2DocPro.

How to remove Wowsearch

You can uninstall the Wowsearch extension from your browser very easily, once you recognize the problem. Right-click on its icon and choose “Remove” in the menu, or go into your browser settings where all of your extensions are listed (the browser’s main menu -> Settings -> Extensions).

Wowsearch might not be the only browser extension that needs to be removed. Malicious browser extensions sometimes get installed a few at a time. Make sure to examine your list of installed extensions for anything suspicious:

• extensions that you do not recognize,
• extensions that use risky permissions (read your data on all sites, change your default search engine, control your new tab page),
• apps that you don’t use anymore.

A faster way to check your device for suspicious items is with an anti-malware program (Combo Cleaner for macOS, Spyhunter for Windows, others). Anti-malware apps can warn you about suspicious files, programs, and browser extensions very quickly.

You can also use some anti-malware programs to secure your online browsing by having them block malicious websites. This could help you avoid infections.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Uninstall unwanted browser extensions

TopHow To remove Wowsearch Redirect from Google Chrome:

• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select More Tools→Extensions
  
• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.
  
• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select Settings
  
• Select Manage Search engines
  
• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list
  
• Go back to settings. On Startup choose Open blank page (you can remove undesired pages from the set pages link too).
• If your homepage was changed, click on Chrome menu on the top right corner, select Settings. Select Open a specific page or set of pages and click on Set pages.
  
• Delete malicious search websites at a new Startup pages window by clicking “X” next to them.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Wowsearch Redirect, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on a Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on theReset browser settings button.
  
• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How to remove Wowsearch Redirect from Microsoft Edge:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Microsoft Edge window. Select “Extensions”.

• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.

• Click on the three-dot menu on the browser toolbar and Select Settings

• Select Privacy and Services and scroll down. Press on Address bar.

• Choose Manage search engines.

• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list: open the three-dot menu and choose Remove.

• Go back to Settings. Open On start-up.
• Delete malicious search websites at Open specific page or pages by opening the three-dot menu and clicking Delete.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Wowsearch Redirect, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings

• Click on Edge's menu button and select Settings. Click on the Reset Settings button on the left.
• Press the Restore settings to their default values option.

• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How To remove Wowsearch Redirect from Firefox:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla window and select the “Add-ons” icon (Or press Ctrl+Shift+A on your keyboard).
  
• Go through Extensions and Addons list, remove everything Wowsearch Redirect related and items you do not recognise. If you do not know the extension and it is not made by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, Oracle or Adobe then you probably do not need it.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on the Firefox menu in the top right corner, select Options → General. Enter a preferable URL to the homepage field and click Restore to Default.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Wowsearch Redirect, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla Firefox window. Click on the Help button.
  
• ChooseTroubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on theReset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

If the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program to identify malicious entries.